Ondo APC Chair Ade Adetimehin Beaten as Thugs Disrupt Meeting

 

Chaos in Akure as suspected thugs disrupt an Ondo APC stakeholders' meeting, assaulting Chairman Ade Adetimehin. Discover the link to the ward congresses and Governor Aiyedatiwa's response.

suspected political thugs stormed the party secretariat, turning a critical pre-congress stakeholders’ meeting into a scene of violence and leaving several top leaders, including state Chairman Ade Adetimehin, badly injured.

The attack happened at the APC secretariat along Ilesha Garage Road in Akure, barely 24 hours before ward congresses were scheduled to kick off across the state’s 203 wards. Witnesses and party officials described how a group of armed men, reportedly linked to the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and allegedly led by the union’s state chairman Ademola Odudu, forced their way into the venue brandishing cutlasses, sticks, machetes, and other dangerous weapons. Some accounts spoke of sporadic gunshots ringing out, sending terrified attendees scrambling for safety and bringing the gathering to a sudden, violent halt.

State Chairman Ade Adetimehin – often referred to as the caretaker chairman in some reports – took the worst of the beating. He later recounted how the attackers shouted his name as they burst into the hall, dragged him to the floor, and rained blows on him. They stripped him of his two mobile phones, wristwatch, and roughly N210,000 in cash. Adetimehin described the assault as deliberate and politically motivated, claiming the thugs made it clear they were opposed to any congress proceedings going ahead.

Other prominent party figures caught in the violence included Otito Atikase, a commissioner on the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC); former Commissioner for Sports Saka Yusuf-Ogunleye; former lawmaker Success Torhukerhojo; former Deputy Speaker Abayomi Akinruntan; former Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo local government chairman Dayo Akinsuroju; the chairman’s driver, Friday Ogbaide; and several other members. Many of the injured were rushed to nearby hospitals for urgent treatment, their injuries underlining just how brutal the invasion had been.

An eyewitness, Yetunde Adeyanju, gave a chilling account of the attackers openly declaring their allegiance. They reportedly shouted slogans such as “We are from Aiyedatiwa,” “We don’t want congress in Ondo State,” and “The governor is in charge.” Some allegedly went further, threatening that anyone pushing for the congresses would face assassination. The message, according to those present, was unmistakable: the disruption was meant to assert the governor’s authority over the party structure.

The ugly episode has ripped open existing cracks within the Ondo APC, with many fingers now pointing directly at Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa. Party sources and the affected leaders accuse him of sponsoring the thugs to sabotage the congress process, possibly due to disagreements over leadership control or candidate selection. Adetimehin stressed that the meeting had been duly approved by the national secretariat, the congress committee, and the appeal committee. He even claimed to have briefed the governor personally beforehand.

Governor Aiyedatiwa has pushed back strongly against the accusations. Through his information commissioner and in later statements, he condemned the chaos as the handiwork of miscreants with no business at the secretariat. He blamed “vested interests” and factional rivalries rather than any official directive from his office. The governor insisted he remains committed to due process and peaceful party activities, even as he convened a parallel stakeholders’ meeting to address the fallout.

So far, the Nigerian Police have not issued a detailed statement on arrests or the progress of any investigation. The incident has drawn widespread condemnation as a dangerous breach of security and basic democratic norms inside a major political party. APC members in Ondo are now calling for a thorough, unbiased probe to prevent the situation from spiralling further, especially with ward congresses now hanging in the balance.

This outbreak of violence throws a harsh spotlight on the deep fractures within the Ondo APC. For months, whispers of internal power struggles and disagreements over control of the party machinery have circulated. Tuesday’s attack has brought those tensions into the open in the most dramatic and disturbing way possible. When political differences are settled with cutlasses and sticks instead of dialogue and ballots, it raises serious questions about the health of internal democracy – not just in Ondo, but across the country.

Many ordinary party members are watching anxiously. Will the planned ward congresses still hold? Can the factions find common ground before things get even uglier? Or has the violence effectively killed any chance of a peaceful process?

For now, the images of injured leaders, the fear in the voices of eyewitnesses, and the conflicting narratives from opposing camps paint a troubling picture. A party that should be preparing for internal elections has instead been forced to deal with physical assaults and accusations of thuggery at its own headquarters.

The coming days will be critical. If the police act swiftly and impartially, it might help restore some confidence. If the investigation drags or appears one-sided, the divisions could deepen, further weakening the APC in a state where political unity has never been more fragile.

In the end, Tuesday’s chaos at the secretariat along Ilesha Garage Road was more than just another ugly political skirmish. It was a stark reminder of how quickly internal party disputes can turn violent when restraint and respect for due process are thrown out the window. Ondo APC – and indeed the broader Nigerian political class – would do well to take note before more blood is spilled in the name of “control.”